SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/ham-control-operator-required

When may an amateur station transmit without a control operator?

Never. Every transmitting station needs a control operator.

  1. When using automatic control, like a repeater
  2. Never ✔
  3. When it is an auxiliary station

Why: Every amateur station that transmits must have a control operator. Even an automatically controlled repeater has a control operator responsible for it.

Huh, didn't know that: Part 97 defines the control operator as a ham chosen by the station licensee to be responsible for its transmissions.

The dad joke
Who is in charge of the repeater? The control freak, I mean control operator.
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Sources

  1. NCVEC 2026-2030 Technician Question Pool (Element 2), errata Feb 19, 2026 https://www.ncvec.org/downloads/2026-2030%20Technician%20Pool%20and%20Syllabus%20Public%20Release%20Feb%2019%202026.pdf

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